A suggestion for those getting into auto-x on the cheap, the Forester does actually drive pretty well ...as it should since it's just an Impreza for the most part but with a 50/50 weight distribution and a little more wagon-esque.
Step #1 is always the driver. Learn the basics, learn lines, and get an idea for what you're supposed to do. Some people grew up driving really fast; some are late bloomers. It is a learned trait, so learn as much as you can. A lot of this learning will be hands on as you train your mind and body to do what it needs to do to actually drive the car.
Step #2 is tires. Nothing is going to help you more than a nice, sticky set of tires. Buy something very good. If it's a daily driver, buy something that will work off the track too. Note you can stick pretty wide tires under the Forester wheel wells. 235-245 width is plenty doable. You're looking at right around 9.5" section width as the upper limit. Stay with the +48 offset as that will keep the tire center between the strut and fender and will let you run the widest tire you can.
Step #3 is alignment. You gotta make sure you're making good use of that rubber. Again, if this is a daily driver, there will be a compromise for tire longevity versus maximum grip. Note, you may have to look into camber plates and such to achieve more agressive setups. Some grinding of the bolt holes can be done to help some. These adjustments can affect tire fitment.
This is personal preference, but I'm a fan of neutrality. In this sense, I knock out all the stock bias.
On the very cheapest level, upgrade the rear swaybar. OEM 17mm to 20mm rear bars can be purchased cheap used or around $85 new. It's probably the most influential suspension upgrade you will do and will take out a lot of roll and let the car rotate and corner far better. I've used the 17mm bar but have upped and preferred the 20mm rear bar overall. Although the car becomes less "tossable," it gains stability as you go higher. If you got too high, you will simply reintroduce oversteer.
Springs will be the next step. Since the car is 50/50, you're shooting for a pretty even spring rate on both ends. Along with the pretty even swaybar setup, the car will become very neutral. Again, if this is a daily driver, use rates that are livable. The Swift FXT springs are nice. They stiffen up the suspenion some as well as neutral it out decently. Still, they are soft enough for daily use and actually feel better than stock in most every way for normal daily driving. It's cheap because it takes no additional hardware and simply reuses the stock struts. Any stiffer springs will require firmer struts. Moving further, you can start running sedan suspensions, aftermarket coilovers, etc. and get the car lower and stiffer. Again, you want to sit pretty even on rates.
Stock brakes can take lighter abuse on slower courses, but you'll need some upgrading to prevent fade on anything faster. At the very least, just get better ceramic pads. Something like EBC's Redstuff works plenty well and resists fade nicely. You can step to more agressive pads if you're looking for heavier bite. Fresh DOT4 fluid finishes off the change. Again, for neutrality, the stock brake bias is front heavy which can promote understeer under braking. To fix this, upgrade the rears to the Outback bracket and rotor(H6 upgrade). If you have a Forester older than 03, you can upgrade the front rotors and brackets to the WRX size. The newer Foresters already come with the WRX sized front but are a bit front biased because of it. WRX + Outback = very neutral braking. This can help a good bit on entry.
Further steps would be looking at harder bushings to improve the precision and feel(tremendously). This just makes for a far more precise, far more direct car and just a more enjoyable car to drive. I will note this is a considerable difference. NVH isn't bad as long as done right. GroupN rubber over Poly if you care. It's quite hilarious to drive a stock and a GroupN rich car through a slalom and feel the difference.
Since this is a sport with rules, familiarize yourself with the rules of each class and understand what you can and can't do to the car. If you're trying to be completitive, do what's most beneficial. If you're just there to have fun, it doesn't really matter that much. Set up the car the way you like and enjoy.
My humble "hobbyist" setup, geared to my preference:
2002 Forester S, full interior
245/45/R17 RE01R on 17x7.5 Rota Subzeros (yeah 7.5 is kinda low, lol)
Swift FXT springs, +03 tophat + TiC washer
OEM 20mm rear WRX bar
WRX front rotors/brackets, "H6" rear rotors/brackets
ATE Super Blue fuild
Carbotec AX6 (Panther Plus) pads
I-Speed RS ECU reflash (just hated stock tune's behavior)
Upgraded bushings/mounts everywhere, GroupN where possible (best grand you can spend)
Total cost: ~$3500 (rough guess, from stock)
Cheapest to get into auto-x:
Tires + brake pads
Cost: ~ $500-$900 depending...
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